An Employer Willing to Mentor Can Create a Good Experience

Sunday

Jun 24, 2012 at 11:56 PM

Students across the country turn to summer internships for apprenticeship and a sneak preview of what's to come in the real world.

By ELVINA NAWAGUNATHE LEDGER

In one year, Laura Modrall, 20, will graduate with a bachelor's degree in communications and a minor in graphic design from Flagler College in St. Augustine, but she doesn't want to be shocked by the realities of her profession when she gets a job. She's spending this summer as a communications and graphic design intern with Lakeland-based Lorrie Walker Communications Inc."I take all these classes and stuff, but I wanted to get real-life experience, write real press releases for real clients," she said.She already has clients assigned to her, writes their releases and blog posts, as well as designs posters for events the company organizes."I really feel like it's giving me an edge," Modrall said.Like Modrall, students across the country turn to summer internships for apprenticeship and a sneak preview of what's to come in the real world.Unfortunately, some companies take on interns but are ill-prepared to teach, train and provide an environment that helps them develop, said J. Lenora Bresler,s a leadership trainer and coach with Bresler Training, a leadership and motivation firm in Lakeland."It's very important that employers don't just see them as cheap labor. Really a summer intern is looking for a mentor," she said. "If you're going to have a summer intern, it's really more about what you can give to that intern rather than what the intern can give to you."So how can you help your intern get the best out of the experience?

INVEST YOUR TIMEIt's an opportunity to shape the future of your industry, Bresler said. Create some kind of structure and teach them what they need to know about their chosen profession."You can get substantive work from them now and develop potential future employees, but only if you're willing to put in the time and good training up-front," she said. "If you're not willing, I wouldn't do it."

SET EXPECTATIONSMost schools have the intern and the employer set up specific goals and learning objectives."This is good for both parties as it gives them an outline of what they want to have accomplished by the time the internship is completed," said Xuchitl Coso, director of career development at Florida Southern College in Lakeland. Interns, she said, want to learn what this company does and how they might fit with theorganization, and the employer wants to make the experience worthwhile for the student and see if this individual could be a future employee."

SUBSTANTIVE WORKTasks such as clerical work or running the mail room don't give the student much special experience because these are the same across every industry. Giving the intern menial tasks that require little education or experience, Bresler said, can be very disheartening and disappointing to the interns. Interns need work that's educational and challenging and a realistic preview of their profession.

BRAINSTORMING MEETINGSThe future of all industries is innovation, Bresler said, and allowing interns into the creative, brainstorming environment helps them understand the inner workings of the industry.Interns also bring a new perspective to the workplace, Coso said."Many companies do the same thing for years, and sometimes having a young person look at the process from a different point of view provides both the student and the employer with a new way of looking at an issue," she said.

SUPPORTIVE WORKPLACEA negative workplace, with employees lacking enthusiasm, can affect the intern's view of the entire profession, Bresler said. The experience can either set them on the road to love and excel in an industry or hate and abandon a profession. Employees at the company should look at an intern as someone they can teach and mentor. "When a company hires an intern, they are, in all practical purposes, an employee of that company, so they should be treated like they treat their peers," Coso said. Interns should be treated as colleagues who are there to learn, but also fully capable of handling the project assigned to them, said Marsha Leap, a career strategist and owner of Leap Ahead Professional Development in Lakeland."They are not there to take out the trash, clean out the refrigerator, or other menial tasks that no one else would do," Leap said. "They should be treated with the same respect as any of the other staff."

INDEPENDENCEInterns want to be shown how their project will impact the bottom line and it's helpful to let them know why the project is important to the company, Leap said. Micromanaging, she said, is frustrating for interns. "Help them with whatever resources they need and then let them work," she said.

HONEST FEEDBACKThe interns are there to learn more about the industry and to judge whether that's what they want to do with their life. They need to be told very clearly whether they have a strength and skills for that industry or not, Bresler said.

[ Elvina Nawaguna can be reached at Elvina.Nawaguna@theledger.com or 802-7515. ]